And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word.
-1 Kings 18:21 (ESV)
In 1 Kings 18, we find the prophet Elijah greatly outnumbered: 450 prophets of Baal against 1 prophet of the Lord (himself). King Ahab had led the Israelites astray by worshiping multiple gods, and apparently the god du jour was Baal. Elijah decided enough is enough… He must speak out against this. Either follow God or follow Baal, he says. Sitting on the fence is not an option.
While this verse is obviously speaking of people who are following multiple gods, it really goes further than that nowadays. Specifically, it’s about the other “gods” that battle for the focus of Christians today. The things that we devote ourselves to instead of giving our all for God.
It’s almost as if Elijah is speaking to us today saying, “If gods like power/fortune/fame is what you desire, then fine. Go for it. But if it’s the true God who you claim you follow, then give those things up and follow him wholeheartedly.”
I really like the use of the world “limping” here as well. The imagery there is tremendous.
When you try to follow two things at the same time, the result isn’t pretty.You’ll trip. You’ll stumble. You’ll be confused. You’ll probably end up limping, not able to give either direction your best, and ultimately lose track who who you’re following in the first place.
Even though it was given thousands of years ago to a completely different type of people and culture, Elijah’s advice is just as applicable to us as it was to the Israelites.
Get off the fence. Stop limping. We must follow the real God and him alone.
